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A common phrase that is thrown around in the world of football about referees is that the man or woman in black has a good game when they go unnoticed.
The officials enforce the laws of the game and keep track of the game time. The referee also has additional powers and can also postpone, stop, suspend or call off a match if there are troublesome weather conditions or violent crowd problems.
Professional Game Match Official Limited (PGMOL) group officiates all Premier League matches. With a huge list of officials under their umbrella, a host of referees has officiated hundreds of games.
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Here we take a look at the top five-referees with the most PL appearances.
#5 Howard Webb (297 appearances)
Retired English professional referee, Howard Webb also served as a policeman during his 11-year long professional top-flight career. Webb has been a listed Premier League elite level official since 2003 and currently serves as the technical director of PGMOL.
In 2010, the Englishman became the first man in history to officiate both the UEFA Champions League final as well as the World Cup final in the same year. A FIFA listed official since 2005, the former PL referee is part of an experienced bunch of referees working hard to promote and infuse technology into the game without affecting the proceedings of the game.
He has made 297 PL appearances and is fifth on the all-time appearance chart.
Webb has taken charge of some important games in his career, as he has also officiated an FA Cup final, League Cup final and a Community Shield match during his career. Prior to becoming a PL referee, he worked with the Football League as an assistant referee.
#4 Phil Dowd (307 appearances)
English born, retired referee, Phil Dowd officiated in the Premier League for 15 years before an injury caused him to miss the whole of the 2015-16 season. PGMOL, at the start of the next season, released a statement saying Dowd had retired from the game.
Having officiated 307 Premier League matches, he is fourth on the PL all-time appearance list for referees. The Englishman was appointed as an elite level referee in 2001, after which he served with PGMOL, training and guiding the next generation of referees in the Premier League while continuing his career.
A supremely experienced ref, he has taken charge of an FA Cup final, League Cup final and a Charity Shield during his long career. Before he joined the PL list of elite officials in 2001, Dowd served as an assistant referee in the Football League since 1992.
#3 Martin Atkinson (327 appearances)*
Current elite level Premier League referee, Martin Atkinson has been an official for the Premier League since 2005. Currently, in his 12th year refereeing, Atkinson is a well reputed and experienced official who has taken charge of important games all across Europe during his career.
Atkinson has officiated a host of finals, including an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Europa League final. The Englishman has also taken charge of a Community Shield game which is the season's opening match.
A FIFA listed referee since 2006, the Bradford born referee has been to many tournaments in various capacities. He was part of Howard Webb's officiating team in the 2010 WC in South Africa. With 327 appearances currently in the PL, he is one the most experienced and composed officials in the professional game.
Atkinson will take over the second spot in the all-time PL list of appearances, as he will surpass Graham Poll who will slip into the third spot.
#2 Graham Poll (329 appearances)
Graham Poll is a retired Premier League and a FIFA listed referee who has taken charge of some of the biggest matches in world football. A Premier League listed referee since its inception in 1993, the Englishman has taken charge of 329 games in the top-flight of English football.
Poll is a veteran referee in the international circuit and has also taken part in two WC's in 2002 and 2006. The Englishman is well known for a blunder during the 2006 WC when he awarded a Croatian player three yellow cards before sending him off, in a group stage match against Australia.
He retired from the international scene after the tournament and went on to officiate for another year in the Premier League before he called time on his career. However, Dowd was one of the earliest elite level referees who has gone to help, inspire and teach the new generation of referees.
Poll, currently second on the all-time PL appearance list, will be overtaken by Martin Atkinson who is only two games away from being second on the list.
#1 Mike Dean (437 appearances)*
The dean of deans, Mike Dean tops the all-time PL appearance list for referees having taken charge of a staggering 437 matches and counting. The 49-year-old referee has been a Premier League listed official since 2000 and serves as an elite level referee guiding and training the new bunch of referees.
With over 400 domestic top-flight games under his belt, the Englishman is also a FIFA listed referee since 2003, taking charge of international games between countries in various tournaments and capacities.
A largely experienced official Mike Dean is serving in his 17th year as an official in the Premier League. With no signs of injury or fatigue, Dean looks set to create a record that will take some beating as he continues to officiate games week in week out consistently year after year.
